Students from Jammu and Kashmir have given a befitting reply to terrorists as 95 per cent of them appeared for their class XII board examination in the state, which is itself is a powerful “surgical strike”, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday. “In Kashmir Valley, for the past several months, schools were shut, over 30 had been burnt. But students from Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Ladakh, have given a befitting reply to terrorists with a presence of 95 per cent in the board exam held on Monday,” he said. Emphasising that this was “India’s reply”, Javadekar said the country believed in education and progress and the message was that no design to break the country would succeed.

“I’m proud of those children and their parents who are the strength of India. Education is the way to progress. They have understood and given this befitting reply. We have seen the surgical strike of the army, but this reply given by students is also a powerful surgical strike,” he said. Javadekar, who was speaking at an event ‘Kala Utsav’,
said all should get a basic level of education that supports them in life but added that unique talents should be brought to the fore as well. Later speaking on the sidelines of the event, he made it clear that compulsory class X board examinations will be introduced for CBSE students from the next academic session 2017-18.

“There is no confusion, today more than 23 million students appear for tenth board examination over the country through state boards. For CBSE also half the students appear for the exam, while half don’t appear because there was an option available,” Javadekar said. Now those 2 million who chose the option will also have to take the exam, he said. The measure, however, he emphasised will be implemented from the next academic year, saying goalposts or rules should not be shifted mid-course. The move will bring about parity with state boards, he said.